Squaring the box is that: scoring three points outside, improving the goal difference, bathing in confidence in someone else’s home and blowing bubbles of motivation so as not to fail at home. Thus, as it is, what the Colombian National Team did by defeating, clearly, a very harmless Peru, which even helped the national cause.
Colombia now has 7 points, the same as Uruguay (fifth, 0 difference) and Paraguay (fourth, +1) and now their difference, which was chaotic, is at -2, closer, without a doubt. The results, which played at the beginning of the day, were really capitalized in Lima, a sweet place, for a debut this happy for Reinaldo Rueda.
The glass was half full: Colombia imposed its order from the start, had the ball, assumed its role as the most needy.
Glass half empty: at 8 minutes he also suffered the first scare when Advíncula overtook Tesillo on the left wing and a saving leg from Mina cut the center when those in yellow piled up in his area. At 19, very early, Stefan Medina had yellow and Zapata had to go to cover the Peruvian who was coming to the right. After, crash, cut, block, that was the summary of the first half hour.
Until at 36, finally, a start by Muriel forced the foul and a free kick that did not end in anything, but the previous step to a joy that will not be a flash of talent but that at that point represented the three points they were looking for: Gallese appeared to join the Colombian cause with an unusual doubt, all forced by a Bull like Zapata, who pivoted for Mina and he, standing where he belonged, finished off with a head butt down before a scoreboard that neither tried jump. Yes half forced, not very bright, all more because of the opponent’s mistake, so what? COLOMBIA’S GOAL!
And Peru continued to err and this time a clumsiness of Trauco left the local with 10 for a foul on Cuadrado, one of many that suffered in the first episode and that was a table served to finish punishing the team of a Gareca that he did not even want to see .
Guerrero showed himself at the beginning of the second half, but Ospina was ready and then Colombia pressed the accelerator because now the goal difference was at half and because talent forces it: Uribe, who had already tried with Cuadrado, appeared this time precise to a delight of Medina center that meant 2-0 at 49 minutes and six minutes later Muriel and Díaz joined on the left, the first putting a center back that complicated the slow defenders and the second escaping to that mark and defining the opposite pole in a half turn, very much in his style, unattainable, lethal. And the victory that for many seemed disputed was now an unappealable win!
It was time to dose and then Díaz gave way to Yairo Moreno and did the same with Daniel Muñoz, who could be the only bored Colombian in Lima: one minute the happiness lasted because López’s foul cost him a direct red at 59 minutes.
More changes came, more relays and more tranquility: Muriel, Zapata and Uribe to rest and Santos Borré, Borja and Barrios to support and not give up either the points or the goal difference.
Mission accomplished in Lima and accolade, what accolade !, to face an Argentina on Tuesday that does have Colombia as a daughter in Barranquilla, but that comes from a thick and lackluster game against Chile (1-1). the possibility of squaring the box after the debacle against Uruguay and Ecuador and a 9-1 that now, finally, seems like a page passed for the national team.
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